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DR Congo
A team across generations. Build your eleven, then explore the careers.
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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
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The 33 of DR Congo.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
01
PN
Pierre Ndaye Mulamba AS Bantous, Association Sportive Vita ClubTwo days after the 1974 final finished 2-2, Mulamba scored both goals in the Cairo replay to beat Zambia, watched by roughly a thousand people, having already scored twice in the first match.
ST1967–1971
02
PB
Paul Bonga Bonga Daring Club Motema Pembe, Standard LiègeIn 1961 World Soccer picked him for its world XI beside Pelé, Di Stéfano and Puskás, the first African ever chosen, and a year later he became the first non-naturalised African to play a European Cup semi-final when Standard Liège met Real Madrid.
CM
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q3370682
03
TM
Trésor Mputu TP Mazembe, Kabuscorp S.C.Banned for twelve months over his conduct towards a referee in August 2010, he came back and scored inside 46 seconds.
CAM2004–
04
BT
Bwanga Tshimen TP MazembeThe French and African press of the early 1970s called him the Black Beckenbauer, and in 1973 he became one of the rare defenders voted African Footballer of the Year.
CB1968–1978
05
CM
Chancel Mbemba 115 (as of 5 October 2026) caps (DR Congo) · Anderlecht, Newcastle United
CB2012–
07
KU
Kembo Uba Kembo Association Sportive Vita ClubSix of Zaire's goals on the road to the 1974 World Cup were his, two of them in the 3-0 defeat of Morocco that finally settled qualification.
LM1967–1976
08
SN
Shabani Nonda 49 caps (DR Congo) · 32 goals · FC Zürich, Stade RennaisTwenty-six goals in 2002-03 made him Ligue 1's top scorer, and even after the knee injury that cost him most of the next season he came off the bench in the 64th minute of the 2004 Champions League final, Monaco already losing to Porto.
ST2000–2008
09
MK
Mafu Kibonge 24 caps (DR Congo) · 0 goals · Daring Club Motema Pembe, Association Sportive Vita ClubKinshasa saw Pelé twice in 1967, when Santos came to play two friendlies, and he was on the pitch for both.
CAM1965–1976
10
MM
Mayanga Maku Association Sportive Vita ClubGood Year was the nickname he carried at AS Vita Club, and he earned it at the 1974 Nations Cup with two goals in Zaire's 4-1 win over Mauritius.
LM1970–1979
11
NK
Ntumba Kalala Association Sportive Vita ClubOn 27 February 1972 he scored in the sixteenth minute and again in the fifty-ninth as Zaire beat Congo 2-0 at the Africa Cup of Nations, and the nickname tata mapassa, father of twins, followed him from then on.
CM1972–1974
12
Dieumerci Mbokani 35 caps (DR Congo) · 16 goals · TP Mazembe, Standard LiègeCongo led 2-0 in the 2015 quarter-final until he pulled one back on 65 minutes and sealed a 4-2 turnaround a minute into stoppage time.
ST2005–2015
Dieumerci Mbokani 35 caps (DR Congo) · 16 goals · TP Mazembe, Standard LiègeCongo led 2-0 in the 2015 quarter-final until he pulled one back on 65 minutes and sealed a 4-2 turnaround a minute into stoppage time.
ST2005–2015
13
Julien Kialunda 5 caps (DR Congo) · Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, R.S.C. AnderlechtAnderlecht signed him in 1965 and took the Belgian title in each of his first three seasons, part of 123 league matches he played there across eight years.
CB1972–1972
Julien Kialunda 5 caps (DR Congo) · Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, R.S.C. AnderlechtAnderlecht signed him in 1965 and took the Belgian title in each of his first three seasons, part of 123 league matches he played there across eight years.
CB1972–1972
14
KE
Kakoko Etepé 31 caps (DR Congo) · 9 goals · Daring Club Motema Pembe, VfB StuttgartThirteen seasons with Imana Kinshasa made him a fixture in the Léopards attack, and he scored in the 4-1 win over Mauritius at Damanhour that launched Zaire's 1974 campaign.
ST1970–1976
15
Lomana LuaLua 31 caps (DR Congo) · 7 goals · Colchester United, Newcastle UnitedHis celebration ran to seven backflips and a somersault, and in 2006 it cost him a damaged foot against Arsenal; two years earlier, on loan at Portsmouth, he scored against his parent club Newcastle and the FA rewrote the loan rules because of it.
SS2002–2013
Lomana LuaLua 31 caps (DR Congo) · 7 goals · Colchester United, Newcastle UnitedHis celebration ran to seven backflips and a somersault, and in 2006 it cost him a damaged foot against Arsenal; two years earlier, on loan at Portsmouth, he scored against his parent club Newcastle and the FA rewrote the loan rules because of it.
SS2002–2013
18
Cédric Bakambu 73 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (DR Congo) · 21 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Rayo Vallecano, Villarreal CFIn January 2018 Beijing Guoan paid the €40 million release clause in his Villarreal contract, and he left China four years later as the club's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals.
ST2015–
Cédric Bakambu 73 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (DR Congo) · 21 (as of 4 October 2026) goals · Rayo Vallecano, Villarreal CFIn January 2018 Beijing Guoan paid the €40 million release clause in his Villarreal contract, and he left China four years later as the club's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals.
ST2015–
19
Hérita Ilunga 32 caps (DR Congo) · AS Saint-Étienne, ToulouseVice-captain behind Shabani Nonda, quarter-finalist at the 2006 tournament, Ligue 2 team of the year in 2003-04, 152 matches for Saint-Étienne and four seasons in the Premier League with West Ham.
LB2003–2011
Hérita Ilunga 32 caps (DR Congo) · AS Saint-Étienne, ToulouseVice-captain behind Shabani Nonda, quarter-finalist at the 2006 tournament, Ligue 2 team of the year in 2003-04, 152 matches for Saint-Étienne and four seasons in the Premier League with West Ham.
LB2003–2011
20
Robert Kidiaba 61 caps (DR Congo) · AS Saint-Luc, TP MazembeAfter wins he dropped onto his backside and bounced around his six-yard box, and there was never a better reason than 14 December 2010, when TP Mazembe beat Internacional 2-0 in Abu Dhabi.
GK2002–2015
Robert Kidiaba 61 caps (DR Congo) · AS Saint-Luc, TP MazembeAfter wins he dropped onto his backside and bounced around his six-yard box, and there was never a better reason than 14 December 2010, when TP Mazembe beat Internacional 2-0 in Abu Dhabi.
GK2002–2015
21
YB
Yannick Bolasie Floriana, Plymouth ArgyleAt the Stadium of Light on 11 April 2015 he scored three times in eleven minutes as Crystal Palace beat Sunderland 4-1, the first Palace player ever to take a Premier League hat-trick.
LM2013–
22
Arthur Masuaku Valenciennes, OlympiacosTwo moments carry his name: the mishit cross that beat Édouard Mendy at his near post to sink Chelsea in December 2021, and the free kick against Guinea on 2 February 2024 that sent DR Congo into their first Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in nine years.
LB
Arthur Masuaku Valenciennes, OlympiacosTwo moments carry his name: the mishit cross that beat Édouard Mendy at his near post to sink Chelsea in December 2021, and the free kick against Guinea on 2 February 2024 that sent DR Congo into their first Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in nine years.Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q16010783
23
Cédric Makiadi VfL Wolfsburg, SC FreiburgFreiburg trusted him with 129 Bundesliga appearances between 2009 and 2013, the four seasons that carried the club from newly promoted side to Europa League qualification, and he added twelve goals from central midfield. Third place with DR Congo at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was his tournament peak, reached across an international decade that began against Ethiopia in June 2007, with Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and Rizespor either side of the Freiburg years.
CM2007–
Cédric Makiadi VfL Wolfsburg, SC FreiburgFreiburg trusted him with 129 Bundesliga appearances between 2009 and 2013, the four seasons that carried the club from newly promoted side to Europa League qualification, and he added twelve goals from central midfield. Third place with DR Congo at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations was his tournament peak, reached across an international decade that began against Ethiopia in June 2007, with Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and Rizespor either side of the Freiburg years.
CM2007–
24
Gaël Kakuta SBV Vitesse, Dijon FCOOn 15 February 2020 he put Amiens two goals up on Paris Saint-Germain inside half an hour, and the Licorne finished the night on a 4-4 draw.
RM
Gaël Kakuta SBV Vitesse, Dijon FCOOn 15 February 2020 he put Amiens two goals up on Paris Saint-Germain inside half an hour, and the Licorne finished the night on a 4-4 draw.Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q299703
25
NK
Neeskens Kebano Paris Saint-Germain, Stade Malherbe CaenHis father named him after Johan Neeskens, and on 27 July 2020 he honoured the debt with a free kick curled past Cardiff City in the Championship play-off semi-final, one of 21 goals he scored for Fulham.
CAM2014–
26
IM
Issama Mpeko Daring Club Motema Pembe, Association Sportive Vita ClubEight seasons at TP Mazembe brought 248 matches and 13 goals from right-back, the kind of tally that only comes to a full-back nobody wants to drop.
RB2011–
27
MT
Marcel Tisserand 36 (as of 5 October 2026) caps (DR Congo) · Monaco, LensThe armband was on his sleeve when DR Congo met hosts Egypt at the 2019 Cup of Nations, a tournament he started in every round before Madagascar knocked the Leopards out in the last sixteen.
CB2016–
28
Meschak Elia Kigali, 7 February 2016: he left the African Nations Championship as its best player and joint top scorer on four goals, DR Congo having beaten Mali 3-1 in the final at the Amahoro Stadium.
RM2016–
Meschak Elia Kigali, 7 February 2016: he left the African Nations Championship as its best player and joint top scorer on four goals, DR Congo having beaten Mali 3-1 in the final at the Amahoro Stadium.
RM2016–
29
Gabriel Zakuani Leyton Orient, Peterborough UnitedIn January 2006 he helped Leyton Orient knock Premier League Fulham out of the FA Cup, and Fulham signed him that summer.
CB2005–
Gabriel Zakuani Leyton Orient, Peterborough UnitedIn January 2006 he helped Leyton Orient knock Premier League Fulham out of the FA Cup, and Fulham signed him that summer.
CB2005–
30
JK
Joël Kimwaki Daring Club Motema Pembe, TP MazembeTwo down to Congo in the Cup of Nations quarter-final on 31 January 2015, DR Congo pulled level, and on eighty-one minutes he met a free kick and headed them 3-2 ahead in a 4-2 win.
CB2009–
31
Samuel Moutoussamy Olympique Lyonnais, FC Nantes
CM
Samuel Moutoussamy Olympique Lyonnais, FC NantesCareer sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q37453754
32
LM
Ley Matampi Association Sportive Vita ClubHe ended the 2016 African Nations Championship as its best goalkeeper, the tournament DR Congo won by beating Mali 3-0 in the Kigali final on 7 February.
GK
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q3237427
33
LB
Lobilo Boba Association Sportive Vita ClubNumber 5 on his back, he started all three of Zaire's matches at the 1974 World Cup, the first reached by a sub-Saharan African side, and stood in the back line that conceded nine to Yugoslavia on 18 June. Three months earlier Zaire had won the Cup of Nations in Cairo, beating Zambia in a replayed final with him in the team of the tournament, and AS Vita Club took the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1973.
RB1973–1980
About this XI
Pierre Ndaye Mulamba tops DR Congo's all-time pool, ahead of Paul Bonga Bonga and Trésor Mputu. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 13 midfielders and 7 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1960s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Left out, and why
A 33 is a set of decisions, and these are the players who lost their place in the last revision of DR Congo's list. Every one of them has a case.
- Distel ZolaThe place went to Kakoko Etepé.
- Edo KayembeThe place went to Mayanga Maku.
Disagree? That is the point. Settle it in the duels above.
Who is the greatest DR Congo footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Pierre Ndaye Mulamba. Its first five careers: Pierre Ndaye Mulamba, Paul Bonga Bonga, Trésor Mputu, Bwanga Tshimen, Chancel Mbemba. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 DR Congo players chosen?
The collection covers every position across DR Congo's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own DR Congo all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.